Thanks guys. If you have ridden new Ultegra or Campy Ultrashifters...pretty smooth under the lever.
That opening under Sram shifters allows for the lever to articulate which btw Campy and Shimano do to...but they seal off the under surface more effectively. No doubt this was considered in the Sram shifter development and testing. Apparently they decided it wasn't a big deal and guess they were right based upon your response.

Thanks again.